Thomas Merrill’s lap of 1m36.195s in his No. 26 BridgeHaul/HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang was enough to earn him pole position for Sunday’s Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s TA2 class race at Sonoma Raceway. It was Merrill’s first Motul Pole Award since Sebring in February of 2021.

Rafa Matos was second fastest in qualifying with a 1m36.199s in the No. 88 3Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang, followed by Connor Mosack’s No. 26 High Point University Camaro with a 1m36.554s. Brent Crews in his No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang was fourth with a 1m36.892s, and Connor Zilisch rounded out the top five with a 1m36.892s in his No. 57 Silver Hare Racing Camaro.

“It’s about darn time,” said Merrill. “Sebring last year was a long time ago. I’ve owed it to the Cope crew for a long time to put this thing back on the top of the board. I’m very happy to do it in the BridgeHaul and HP Tuners colors. It’s been a tough season for us and it’s really nice to have a good result. I need it for confidence, the team needs it for morale. We know we’ve been better than our results up until now, so it’s good to actually put a pin in it and own the top position. The real event is tomorrow, but today is a good start.”

Roy Fulmer IV, who won the Western Championship season opener at Thunderhill Raceway Park, won the Western pole with a time of 1:38.168.

“I’ve had a great weekend so far, I definitely can’t complain,” said Fulmer. “We’re going to keep making adjustments to the chassis and we’ll hopefully find some more time, and we’ll see if we can keep up with those National guys.”

Full qualifying results can be found here.

The TA2 race will be contested Sunday at 1:40 p.m. PT/4:40 p.m. ET. Free live coverage begins at 1:05 p.m. PT/4:05 p.m. ET at youtube.com/TheTransAmSeries.